In Pursuit of Princes
by Rumour of an Alchemist
Summary: Lucius Malfoy, a loyal servant of he Dark Lord, makes a report to Lord Voldemort, concerning recent events at Hogwarts. One-shot. Supplemental material to 'Alternate Scene by the Lake 4'. Author Notes expanded slightly, August 11, 2013.


(Minor adjustments to text and Author Notes added, 1st April 2013; Author Notes expanded, August 2013)

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter.

Note: This piece is supplemental material to my story 'Alternate Scene by the Lake 4', which is set in an alternate universe where events played out differently in the immediate aftermath of the Hogwarts fifth year defence exam in 1976. Events and several characters have started to go in significantly different directions from those of canon. This particular piece is set one evening in August of 1976, and features a private meeting between (just) Lord Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy. I have assumed that Lucius Malfoy was a marked Death Eater and member of Lord Voldemort's inner circle by this point; also that Lucius was relatively recently married to Narcissa.

Further Note: Gnaeus Octavian Prince is the name (and wizard) I've invented as Severus Snape's maternal grandfather. Not much is said as of the time of my writing this (in March 2013) about the Prince family in canon.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy was starting to quite thoroughly dislike the Prince family.

Several weeks ago the Dark Lord had summoned Lucius away from his matrimonial bed in the early hours of one morning – at a time when Lucius had been _very_ busy (and intimately so) with his wife – to inform Lucius that he suspected that Gnaeus Octavian Prince was up to something, and that it was up to Lucius to find out more. The Dark Lord had noticed that apparently Gnaeus was suddenly interested in the former Eileen Prince's son, Severus Snape, and that what was more that Gnaeus had become interested in him from the point that Severus had _left_ Hogwarts, round about the time that just about everyone else was losing interest in an apparently pathetic and beaten young wizard.

The Dark Lord had also been highly specific to Lucius that he, the Dark Lord, admired Gnaeus' ability to scheme (implying that the Dark Lord would prefer Gnaeus on his side) and that Lucius would therefore do _nothing_ which might be construed as a hostile act against Gnaeus during his investigations. This ruled out a wide range of options in Lucius' arsenal of information-gathering, including abducting friends, servants, or business-colleagues for interrogation with either the encouragement of pain (physical or psychological) or use of veritaserum to ensure loquaciousness.

Still, Lucius liked to pride himself on his abilities, and he _ought_ to have been able to swiftly come by information about the head of the Prince family's latest schemes and thinking, but the bloody old coot played his cards so close to his chest and told so few others of what he was doing that – without recourse to 'unfriendly methods' – Lucius had found precious little to go on. He couldn't even be sure which of the residences in London, Manchester, Cardiff, and Belfast the Prince patriarch was using at present to live in – and for all that Lucius knew there might be houses completely unknown to him where Gnaeus was residing. The man occasionally showed up in the Wizengamot, where he maintained a not-very-interested neutral stance regarding the war, but it was practically impossible to buttonhole him there, and when Lucius had made the mistake of trying to get an appointment, he'd been told he'd have to wait until September – _next_ year. (Narcissa had subsequently pointed out to Lucius he should have simply invited Gnaeus to a dinner party, but by that point it would have looked an act of desperation, currently insufferable to Malfoy pride, to do so.)

With direct investigations into Gnaeus stymied, Lucius had turned his attention to young Severus Snape, and found himself similarly encountering problems. The information he had for the Snape family abode in Cokeworth was inadequate, the house having apparently disappeared under heavy warding to which he was not keyed as friendly, and his attempts to contact Severus by owl were likewise thwarted by the aforementioned wards. Therefore, Lucius was reduced to looking at what was known of what Severus had done prior to his exit from Hogwarts. Determining exactly _why_ Gnaeus might be suddenly interested in Severus from Severus' last known actions had proven hard going for Lucius however, not least since anyone in the 'Slytherin crowd' with whom Severus had occasionally associated at Hogwarts seemed to have little idea, if any, what might have been going on inside Severus' head. In what Lucius was starting to believe was an inherited Prince family trait, Severus had apparently kept what he was thinking to himself. Lucius _had_ been able to track the last known movements of Severus at Hogwarts (excluding the specifics of his conversations with the headmaster and the head of Slytherin) but at initial glance those had seemed hardly revealing.

And then, _finally_, just when Lucius _had_ started to make some limited progress in his investigation, this morning a minor blasting hex, in its own way, of a rumour had gone around wizarding society, and Lucius had been _certain_ that he would be called in before long for a 'progress report'.

"Well Lucius?" the Dark Lord enquired mildly of Lucius.

"Taking your lordship's directions regarding Gnaeus into account, I have been obliged at times to take a highly _oblique_ approach." Lucius said. It was always possible that Lucius was not the _only_ agent the Dark Lord had instructed to make enquiries, and he dearly hoped he hadn't missed something the Dark Lord considered 'obvious' which someone else had spotted… "The man is as subtle and discreet as your lordship had indicated, and without recourse to more direct actions, which might be interpreted as potentially hostile, my enquiries have been somewhat constrained as to the directions that I have been able to take. In the end, I have tried to study the target of his recent unusual interest, to try and determine what might have originally attracted his attention and to guess at his thoughts and motivations." The Dark Lord gave Lucius an irritated _this had better be good then_ 'look' which made Lucius blanche, but nonetheless, since the Dark Lord had not spoken, Lucius carried on: "Some weeks ago, as the exams were winding down, Severus Snape – the son of a daughter, Eileen, whom Gnaeus had disowned upon her marriage to a muggle, Tobias Snape – was involved in a highly public confrontation with a gang of four Gryffindor students who were in his year. Severus claimed that one of the Gryffindors, one Remus Lupin, was a werewolf, and he said that the Gryffindors had defeated him and that he was departing Hogwarts. He proceeded to snap his wand and throw the pieces at the feet of Remus Lupin, before returning to his dormitory to begin to pack. Two of Severus' own year-mates in Slytherin, John Avery and Henry Mulciber, were able to speak to Severus during the meal in the great hall that evening, during which he had little to say, but John and Henry were struck by the fact that a Gryffindor prefect, one Lily Evans, who joined them for dessert – and who is a long-term associate of Severus – seemed to believe that Severus' actions of that afternoon were likely planned and were _not_ spur-of-the-moment. The next morning, Severus Snape departed Hogwarts, with the headmaster's wrath following him – Albus Dumbledore summoned Severus to his office following breakfast upon the morning of Severus' departure, and whilst I have been unable to discover what passed there, it has subsequently become clear that orders have gone out to all wandmakers with whom Albus has influence _not_ to sell Severus any replacement wand, and that any OWL exams not marked at that time he has been disqualified from. Severus Snape has since disappeared for almost all intents and purposes. I believe that he is living at home with his parents in a residence warded by his mother, which I have been unable – despite knowing the address from friendlier times – to locate, much less cross the threshold of, nor have any owls I have sent with messages been able to find it. None of my contacts in Hogsmeade, the area around Diagon Alley, or in other areas of wizarding Britain have seen any hint of Severus, nor for that matter of his mother. I have, however, discovered a potentially significant fact: The Gryffindor prefect with whom Severus occasionally associated lives in the same town as that in which Severus grew up and currently resides, and I believe it may be possible that she is in contact with him, and perhaps in some way conspiring with him. This fact came to my attention only recently, and I have not yet had time to put in place measures to follow or question her. The girl is a mudblood, moreover, and I fear that if there _were_ any interest shown in her by myself, that it might be misconstrued. Although I am, as far as I know, not under any serious suspicion of being in your lordship's service at this time, it is possible that if I were personally watching or sending agents to actively trail her, it could be mistaken as the actions of a Death Eater stalking a potential target."

"I could always place an Imperius Curse upon you, Lucius, if you required deniability." the Dark Lord mused. "Is that all?"

"No your lordship:" Lucius said, ignoring the Imperius Curse reference for now. "This morning it came to my attention that Gnaeus Octavian Prince has recently rewritten his will, and notified immediate members of his family of that fact overnight. Some of the content of it has not been disclosed to them, but it _has_ been made clear that Gnaeus has substantially reduced what they might have otherwise have expected to inherit upon his demise, and that they have less than three months to convince him otherwise of their qualities as witches and wizards, if they wish to have their expectations restored to anything approaching their former levels. Gnaeus has set a deadline of October the thirty-first for them to persuade him to reconsider. Although, operating as I am under your lordship's instructions to undertake no hostile acts, I have been unable to determine the exact contents of the will thus far, the thought _did_ occur to me that, given his sudden interest in Severus Snape, Gnaeus might perhaps have decided for some reason to include Severus Snape in his will; however, I _have_ discovered that the terms under which Gnaeus disowned his daughter Eileen were quite specific, including a line that – aside from a previously established educational fund he had put in place on his daughter's seventeenth birthday before ever she had heard of Tobias Snape – neither she nor any child she had by way of her muggle husband, would ever directly benefit financially by him except by way of sound business. Gnaeus Octavian Prince is renowned as a wizard of his word when he gives it. I do not believe he would ever name Severus Snape as an heir in his will."

"The muggle-born, Lucius – Miss Evans. How _intimate_ might Mr. Severus Snape be with her?" the Dark Lord asked.

"I am not informed, your lordship." Lucius said. "John and Henry seemed to think that they were certainly friends, and for a _muggle-born_ Gryffindor she apparently does not seem an _entirely_ bad sort. She was apparently prepared to stand up for a Slytherin against one of her own housemates, Sirius Black, even though doing so put her in the infirmary."

Lucius had noted the Dark Lord's use of the word 'muggle-born' and made sure to accordingly adjust his own portrayed view of Miss Evans.

The Dark Lord fell into contemplation for a while, idly tapping his wand against the side of the throne-like chair in which he sat, whilst Lucius stood and sweated. At last the Dark Lord spoke again.

"He defied Albus Dumbledore, Lucius. _Severus Snape intentionally defied Albus Dumbledore as part of a planned course of action_. Whatever house he had been sorted into, that would require ignorance, foolishness, or great courage to do. It seems to me that Gnaeus must view it as courage, and that the boy is a potential asset of high value. There is no other explanation that fits the data. And when you consider the _other_ immediate members of Gnaeus' family – or at least those which he _acknowledges_ as family… How would you evaluate them, Lucius?"

"They can be commended for their adherence to traditional values." Lucius said.

"But they do not distinguish themselves in your opinion in any other way?"

"Not to speak ill of them – for there is great merit in traditions – but I believe not." Lucius said at length.

"Hah! Gnaeus is surrounded by second and third rate wizards whom he _is_ prepared to call kin, but who are in most things little more than dunderheads, and suddenly, a child of a daughter he disowned has the spine to defy Albus Dumbledore himself! Oh, this is delicious, Lucius! His ability to directly benefit the boy is limited, too, by his own words spoken over a decade and a half earlier! No wonder the sudden interest, and the agonies he must no doubt be going through! This is what comes, Lucius, of witches and wizards marrying muggles. Muggles are the root of so much of the trouble for our world. Hmm. Well, whilst Gnaeus' potential travails are amusing to us, and a young man prepared to defy Albus Dumbledore to his own face _would_ be a potentially valuable recruit, the association with the muggle-born, however well-meaning, whom Severus is likely conspiring with is politically difficult. Keep yourself informed of the doings of Gnaeus and young Severus, though, Lucius, and the muggle-born is for now to go on the list of 'honorary half-bloods', at least until we better understand the situation and how far she may be of interest to Gnaeus and Severus. We can afford to keep our options open for now and not rush things in this area, I think…"

"Yes my lord." Lucius inclined his head. He would have preferred, having been called to give this impromptu report, if he'd at least been given orders to hideously torture someone to death, and not given orders to instead torture himself by futilely attempting to further track the activities of Princes (disowned or otherwise). His was but to obey, however…

"Oh, and Lucius. A word before you go: Good spot in the case of young Severus when you were still a prefect at Hogwarts." the Dark Lord purred. "Obviously it is unfortunate that you were so many years ahead of him and your school days were over before you could _properly_ commence to groom and support him – had you been still present in his life I do not doubt you would have prevented things from going so far as to his quitting the school – but for a while, I had been doubting your judgement in your originally bringing him to our attention. I shall see to it that a small token of my gratitude – notes on a spell I came across in Egypt some years back, which might interest you – are delivered to you later today. It is only _proper_ that I appropriately reward _loyal_ and _competent_ service, after all."

"My thanks, my Lord." Lucius again bowed his head, with a genuine sense of gratitude. Odd moments like this, where his master noticed and praised or even rewarded him for something well done were always to be savoured, and made the hard difficult times well worth it.

"Now go and resume whatever activities I had summoned you away from." the Dark Lord dismissed him.

* * *

Author Notes: (updated/expanded August 2013, with reference to Gnaeus' being a widower)

Gnaeus, as indicated in the main 'Alternate Scene by the Lake 4' story, is actually resident in the English city of Bath – in a property which Lucius is completely unaware of.

According to Harry Potter wiki, 'Cokeworth' is the name of the northern England mill town (mill town presumably indicating cotton and/or steel mills were the major employer in the town at some point during its history) where Lily and Severus grew up. Spinner's End is an area of the town.

Details on the Prince family being limited, as I indicated in the opening notes, for the purposes of this story I've assumed that Eileen Prince (as she was then) had not met Tobias Snape by her 17th birthday, and that Gnaeus established a fund on her 17th birthday to pay for the basics of the magical education of any children which she had. I'm unclear on what sort of school fees Hogwarts charges in canon, but clearly if there were any then Severus Snape's education must have been paid for from _somewhere_, and what mention that there is of Severus Snape's upbringing in canon seems to indicate that the Snape family lived in somewhat tight financial circumstances.

In this universe, by 1976 Gnaeus has been a widower for many years, his wife (and Eileen's mother) having died at some point before Eileen turned seventeen, and Gnaeus never having remarried (nor indulged in having mistresses). It's possible that his wife's death led to Gnaeus having expectations of his daughter, Eileen, which contributed to his disowning her when Eileen 'disappointed' him by marrying Tobias Snape.


End file.
